Uighurs

News about Uighurs, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jan. 20, 2015

Police in China fatally shoot two members of Uighur ethnic minority attempting to escape into Vietnam after others in their party resisted arrest at roadblock near border. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Shanghai police arrest 10 Turkish citizens and two Chinese citizens and charge them with giving altered Turkish passports to Uighur terrorist suspects in Xinjiang region; suspects, who were attempting to leave country with passports, are also arrested. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

China is turning Xinjiang region into national hub for oil, gas and coal, despite ethnic violence that continues to churn; Xinjiang has estimated 21 billion tons of oil reserves, fifth of China’s total, and major new deposits are still being found; also has country's largest coal reserves, estimated 40 percent of national total, and largest natural gas reserves; ethnic Uighur minority resent reaping of their homeland's resources. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

Uighur linguist and poet Abduweli Ayup is reportedly released from prison in Xinjian, China. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Court in western China sentences eight people to death for two separate attacks that Chinese officials called terrorist operations; those sentenced all appear to be ethnic Uighurs. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

Chinese authorities indict seven students of imprisoned Uighur Professer Ilham Tohti, outspoken critic of Chinese policies in Xinjiang, where many ethnic Uighurs complain of harsh rule, on charges of being members of a separatist group. MORE

Nov. 12, 2014

Authorities in Xinjiang, China, imprison 22 people in mass sentencing that includes charges of rape, disturbing public order and 'illegal preaching'; ethnicity of defendants is unknown but vast majority of previous terrorism convictions in the ethnically divided region have involved Uighurs; sentences continue aggressive, high-profile campaign against so-called extremism that began in May. MORE

Nov. 9, 2014

Beijing, in effort to quell unrest, moves to transplant and try to assimilate Uighurs and other ethnic minorities to parts of China where the Han, nation's ruling ethnicity, are the majority. MORE

Oct. 20, 2014

Attack on farmers market in western Chinese region of Xinjiang has reportedly left at least 22 people dead and dozens injured; attack, using knives and explosives, was allegedly carried out against ethnic Han Chinese by Uighur assailants. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

Op-Ed article by Prof James A Millward condemns life sentence issued to dissident Chinese scholar Ilham Tohti; says disproportionate sentence is a sign of confusion and desperation behind government's policies toward Uighur minority; argues that by silencing Tohti, China has deprived itself of a critical alternative viewpoint on the deteriorating situation in the western Xinjiang province. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

PEN American Center will hold vigil for Uighur writer and academic Ilham Tohti in response to his being sentenced to life in prison; Tohti, who is vocal critic of Chinese government on human rights and social issues, was sentenced on charges of separatism. MORE

Sep. 28, 2014

Serge Schmemann Quick History column reflects on events of week, including Pres Obama's speech at United Nations General Assembly, resignation of Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr, China's sentencing of Uighur academic Ilham Tohti and strategy for confronting Islamic State militants. MORE

Sep. 27, 2014

Three former students of persecuted Chinese dissident Ilham Tohti denounce their teacher in jailhouse video that is broadcast nationally; students are among seven that vanished in Beijing around time when Tohti was first detained by police, and their current condition and fate remains unclear; broadcast comes amid surge in violence between ethnic Uighurs and members of China's Han majority. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

China's prison sentence given to Uighur academic Ilham Tohti on charges of separatism draws torrent of international outrage; analysts say it is an indication of China's intolerance for criticism of its approach to ethnic minorities. MORE

Sep. 24, 2014

Chinese court in western region of Xinjiang sentences Prof Ilham Tohti to life in prison after finding him guilty of separatism; Ilham is widely considered to be moderate voice among ethnic Uighurs, and his sentence is among the harshest imposed on a Chinese dissident in years. MORE

Sep. 18, 2014

Ilham Tohti, prominent ethnic Uighur economics professor from Beijing, goes on trial in China's far western region Xinjiang on charges of separatism; is widely considered a moderate voice who has promoted dialogue between Uighur minority and China's Han majority. MORE

Sep. 13, 2014

Court in southwest China sentences three people to death and another to life in prison after finding them guilty of killing 31 people in slashing rampage at railroad station in March; attack was among bloodiest to galvanize intense security drive against volatile discontent among ethnic Uighurs. MORE

Sep. 3, 2014

Officials in Xinjiang region of western China are offering cash incentives to encourage marriages between majority Han Chinese and minority Uighurs in effort to soothe growing ethnic violence in the region; couples will also get priority consideration for housing or government jobs, as well as other benefits. MORE

Aug. 26, 2014

Chinese authorities arrest 18-year-old Aini Aishan, accusing him of inspiring and planning killing of Jume Tahir, divisive Uighur head of China's largest mosque, who was stabbed in Kashgar. MORE

Aug. 19, 2014

China's Communist Party has devoted enormous resources to composing historical narratives that legitimize its rule and obfuscate its failures; party-run history machines is especially single-minded in its effort to promote story lines that portray ethnic minorities like Uighurs as contented. MORE

Aug. 13, 2014

Court in western China's Xinjiang region sentences 25 people to prison for taking part in terrorist activities and harboring criminals; all are from Uighur ethnic minority. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

Chinese authorities in Xinjiang, in campaign against Islamic separatists, have cast a net over a wide range of Uighur practices, including veils and long beards, seen as dangerous signs of religious extremism; some women are increasingly torn between their strivings toward modernity and professional ambition and their outrage toward official restrictions targeting Uighur way of life. MORE

Aug. 4, 2014

Nearly 100 people are reported killed in violence in China's Xinjiang province, worst since 2009, that the authorities have characterized as terrorism; Uighur advocacy groups claim upheaval is consequence of sweeping crackdown aimed at silencing opposition to government's hard-line policies in region. MORE

Aug. 1, 2014

Chinese religious leader Jume Tahir, vocal defender of Communist Party’s ethnic policies in the troubled region of Xinjiang, is stabbed to death in city of Kashgar; police shoot and kill two suspects and apprehend third man; crime is most likely retaliation for his support for China’s increasingly hard-line governance of Xinjiang, pivotal region that is home to China’s Uighur minority. MORE

Jul. 31, 2014

China's official news agency reveals more details about bloody clash between Chinese security forces and ethnic Uighurs in country’s far west Xinjiang region; describes confrontation, in which dozens of people died, as a terrorist attack by Islamist extremists, but Uighur exile groups say police used excessive force on antigovernment protesters. MORE

Jul. 31, 2014

Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti is charged with separatism by Chinese authorities in far western Xinjiang region, serious crime that carries potential death sentence. MORE

Jul. 8, 2014

Forced removal of American professor, Elliot Sperling, and cancellation of his visa after arriving in China is clearest sign yet that China is desperate to silence international advocates of Ilham Tohti, ethnic Uighur professor; arrest of Tohti, charged by Chinese authorities with separatism, has ignited outrage across globe. MORE

Jul. 1, 2014

Courts in western Chinese region of Xinjiang sentence 113 people to prison terms for wide range of crimes, including organizing and taking part in terrorist organization; all those sentenced have ethnic Uighur names, pointing to conflict between majority Han Chinese and Uighurs. MORE

Jun. 27, 2014

Ilham Tohti, prominent Uighur scholar charged with separatism after he criticized China's policies in the ethnically divided region of Xinjiang, says through his lawyer that he is innocent and will fight charges. MORE

Jun. 21, 2014

Chinese police shoot dead 13 attackers who rammed vehicle in main police station of Yecheng County, region of Xinjiang in the far west of the country; county is heavily populated by Uighurs, who have often clashed with ethnic Han in recent years. MORE

Jun. 17, 2014

Chinese government executes 13 people in Xinjiang region, part of intensifying response against Uighur separatists and growing violence there that is spreading to other parts of the country. MORE

May. 31, 2014

Chinese Pres Xi Jinping, in two-day work session in Beijing, calls for tighter state control over religion and for better assimilating Uighurs into Chinese society; comments come as Communist Party struggles to tamp down deadly wave of ethnic violence in Xinjiang. MORE

May. 25, 2014

Law enforcement officials in China identify five men they say are responsible for attack on outdoor vegetable market, using car bombs, that killed 43 people and injured more than 90, many of them elderly shoppers; no group has claimed responsibility but authorities believe men are members of region's Uighur minority, which has been implicated in a number of violent attacks across country. MORE

May. 24, 2014

Urumqi, regional capital of Xinjiang, China, struggles to move on after 43 people were killed in terrorist attack by separatists; both majority Han Chinese and minority Uighurs say they will not let bloodshed come between them. MORE

May. 23, 2014

Assailants driving two sport utility vehicles and tossing explosive devices plow through crowded vegetable market in Urumqi, China, capital of restive Xinjiang region in far western China, killing 31 people and wounding 94; attack, latest attributed to Islamic extremists, comes on fifth anniversary of ethnic rioting in region that left at least 200 dead; highlights growing challenge to vast borderlands that are home to China’s ethnic Uighurs. MORE

May. 12, 2014

Plight of Abduweli Ayup, Chinese citizen and linguist who was arrested after founding Uighur language school in Xinjiang, has begun drawing attention abroad through small group of supporters in United States; to outside analysts, Ayup and his two business partners, who have not been heard from since their arrests, are victims of government crackdown aimed at quelling ethnic strife. MORE

Mar. 25, 2014

Human Rights Watch says two groups totaling at least 189 migrants believed to be Uighurs fleeing China have been detained by Thai authorities. MORE

Mar. 15, 2014

Thai police raiding jungle camp in southern Thailand detain about 220 people suspected of being ethnic Uighurs fleeing China, two-thirds of them women and children; Uighurs have suffered repression from ethnic Han who rule China. MORE

Mar. 7, 2014

Xinjiang, China, Gov Nur Bekri says Communist Party will crack down on separatist groups and tighten security measures throughout region in response to knife attack that killed 29 people in train station there. MORE

Mar. 6, 2014

Kashgar Journal; China has razed thousands of traditional homes as it modernizes ancient Silk Road city Kashgar, and results underscore divide between the government and Uighurs, Muslim ethnic minority; Chinese authorities promised to preserve Kashgar’s fabled Old City district, but many Uighurs view demolition as physical symbol of Chinese government’s efforts to destroy their cultural identity. MORE

Mar. 5, 2014

Upbeat coverage of annual gathering of Communist Party leaders dominates airwaves in China as authorities seek to shift attention from massacre at Kunming train station; government faces quandary as it seeks sympathy from international community while trying to avoid inflaming public enmity toward Uighurs, Muslim minority blamed for killings; reports on capture of suspects in massacre is relegated to brief dispatch by state-run news service. MORE

Mar. 4, 2014

Relations, never easy between China's Han majority and Uighurs whose traditional homeland is in China’s far western borderlands, are seriously strained after attack by armed assailants at Kunming Railway Station; officials release news that the killers, who left at least 29 people dead and 143 wounded, were from the western region of Xinjiang and most probably Uighurs. MORE

Mar. 3, 2014

Group of about 10 assailants dressed in black and wearing cloth masks arrives at Kunming Railway Station in southwest China and begins attacking people with knives, killing 29 people and wounding 143; police say attackers are separatists from country's Xingiang region, where members of Uighur minority are at odds with government. MORE

Mar. 2, 2014

At least 29 people are killed and 130 wounded by group of people wielding knives at railway station in Kunming, China; local government believes attack to be terrorist action by Uighur separatists. MORE

Feb. 27, 2014

Security officials in China’s far western borderlands have formally arrested Ilham Tohti, scholar and champion of the country’s ethnic Uighurs, on charges of inciting separatism. MORE

Feb. 15, 2014

Police in Xinjiang, ethnically divided region in far western China, fatally shoot eight people after what the state-run news media describes as an attack by assailants armed with bombs made from gas cylinders; bombers were Uighurs. MORE

Jan. 26, 2014

Chinese economics Professor Ilham Tohti is accused by security officials of separatism and inciting ethnic hatred after being escorted from campus of Minzu University and held incommunicado for days; may face long prison term for his advocacy on behalf of Uighur ethnic minority as new leadership under Communist Party secretary Xi Jinping cracks down on dissent. MORE

Jan. 24, 2014

Three ethnic Uighurs are shot and killed outside police station in China's far western Xinjiang region during fight with security guards. MORE

Questions remain over whether political pressure has made the administration back away from meeting the demand of some countries that the United States accept some prisoners for resettlement to gain their cooperation in accepting others.

China’s news outlets, controlled by the Communist Party, have not acknowledged recent bloodshed in the restive region, including a knife and gun battle in which 17 people died, according to Radio Free Asia.